Aggressive Teenagers and Causes of Teenage Aggression

Are you worried about your teen’s aggression? Are you concerned that your teen is going to seriously hurt someone, someday?

Dealing with an aggressive teen behavior is not easy and it can be hard to trace back the original causes of aggressive behavior in teens. Many parents find themselves asking what causes teen aggression while desperately trying to find a solution that will alleviate some of the pressure and worry that comes along with this daunting responsibility. There are a number of factors that can influence teen aggression and it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which would most likely be the cause of your teen’s aggression.

Exposure to Teenage Aggression One of the biggest causes of teen aggression is exposure to aggression, particularly when the aggressor was younger. Growing up in a violent household or being exposed to violence does make teens more likely to turn out violent themselves – although it is common for teens who are brought up in non-violent homes to become violent. In many ways children, and teens, are products of their environments. If your teen was exposed to violence as a kid, they might have grown up to believe that this was a fair and effective way of communicating their feelings or expressing themselves. Aggression might just be the normality for them, but this doesn’t mean you need to put up with it indefinitely.

An Inability to Communicate Most teens find communicating through talking, yelling, fighting, bickering and slamming doors as enough to express their thoughts and feelings. Other teens show slightly more aggression by kicking or punching walls, throwing things or shouting. On the most extreme side of things, some teens communicate by being violent and physical, showing their dominance, feelings and unhappiness with a certain situation by being aggressive. Many aggressive teenagers simply do not have the skills to communicate effectively and are using ways that intimidate and scare in order to have the strongest affect on you.

Built up Anger Your teen might suffer from anger issues and hold onto past issues instead of trying to work through them. In time, if these issues are left unresolved it can build up to breaking point, when your teen eventually snaps and becomes aggressive. In this circumstance your teen needs to work on being aware of their emotions and stopping themselves before they get to a breaking point, so that they can calmly walk away from the situation.

Dealing with a teen who is in aggression is both scary and dangerous. It’s important that anger issues are dealt with as early as possible, before they escalate into something more worrying. If you are concerned about your teen’s aggression you should seek advice from a professional on how best to deal with it. Often teens who demonstrate aggression towards others need help developing communicating skills as they are unable to express themselves properly.

What have found helpful in dealing with aggressive teens? Do you have any advice for parents who are concerned about aggression in their teens?